Chapter 1

My wife's childhood sweetheart burned me alive.

Instead of seeking justice, she dragged my name to court to protect him.

She claimed everything was just an elaborate setup I staged to frame him.

When she finally saw my corpse, she tore off the white shroud in pure rage.

She ordered me to crawl up and beg on my knees for his forgiveness.

"Leo, haven't you played dead long enough? Get the hell up and apologize to Gavin!"

1

The agony of burning alive still felt raw and vivid.

When I opened my eyes again, I saw Fallon standing by my body with a group of people.

"Uncover him! Didn't you all claim he was dead?"

"Are you too guilty to show the body now?"

Attorney Evans, who handled my case, looked troubled.

His hand trembled as he gripped the white sheet.

He hesitated for a long time, unable to bear letting others see how mutilated I was.

Losing all patience, Fallon yanked the sheet right off me.

My charred, unrecognizable corpse was laid bare before everyone.

The flesh on my face and torso was blackened and torn, exposing bone in the worst spots.

A young woman in the entourage turned away and began gagging violently.

Caught off guard by my wide-open, glassy eyes, Fallon stumbled back a few steps in sheer terror.

I reached out instinctively to cover her eyes, but my hand passed straight through her.

That was when it hit me―I was already dead.

I died at the hands of Gavin Shaw, the man Fallon loved most in the world.

Before I could even drown in my grief, Fallon regained her composure.

She pointed at the mangled body and sneered coldly.

"Nice try, Leo. You really thought you could fool us with some random corpse?"

"Believing this ridiculous mess is him is an absolute disgrace to our entire legal profession!"

The onlookers exchanged bewildered glances, unsure of how to respond.

Only Attorney Evans stepped forward, pointing to the red birthmark behind my left ear.

"You must recognize this, don't you? This really is Mr. Mercer…"

Seeing that familiar mark, a flash of panic crossed Fallon's eyes.

"Is this… really…"

Right at that moment, Gavin clicked his tongue from beside her.

"Leo truly is a master special effects artist. This burn makeup looks insanely realistic."

Hearing those words, Fallon's eyes instantly filled with disgust.

She slammed the white cloth back over my face with violent force.

"I almost fell for your pathetic trick!"

"Are you so obsessed with your work that you have to paint yourself like a monster to scare me?"

"Get your ass up right now and apologize to Gavin, or don't you dare ever come back home!"

But a dead man cannot apologize.

The people around us could not believe she was accusing a corpse of playing dead.

Someone tried to speak up, but Gavin cut in before they could.

"Fallon, please don't be too hard on Leo."

"He went through so much trouble just to frame me, and I don't want to put you in a tough spot."

"Everyone here is on his side anyway, so please don't fight them for my sake."

With just a few sentences, he painted me and the legal team as corrupt co-conspirators.

Fallon's gaze turned vicious as she glared at the attorneys.

"I don't care what deal you made with the Mercer family to put on this little show!"

"I will defend Gavin's rights in this case to the bitter end!"

Before turning away, she kicked my body hard.

"Since you love playing dead so much, stay here and rot!"

"Unless you crawl back and apologize for framing Gavin, don't you ever show your face again!"

Seeing no reaction from me, she grabbed Gavin's hand and stormed out.